Oxide microparticles with predefined properties and structure have enormous potential for a variety of applications. Oxides can be templated to form bulk mesoporous structures using surfactant molecular structures (micelles). The common method for inducing surfactant phase transition and ordering in oxide precursor solution is evaporative-induced self assembly. See, e.g., Hartmann M. Chem. Mater. 2005, 18, 4577-4593; Gasteiger H. A.; Kocha S. S.; Sompalli B.; Wagner F. T. Applied Catalysis B-Environmental 2005, 56, 9-35; Gallis K. W.; Araujo J. T.; Duff K. J.; Moore J. G.; Landry, C. C. Advanced Materials 1999, 11, 1452-1455; and Vallet-Regi M.; Ramila A.; del Real R. P.; Perez-Pariente, J. Chemistry of Materials 2001, 13, 308-311, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. However, previously known techniques for fabricating oxide microparticles do not provide access to the internal pore network and are unsuitable for creating carbon replicas of template particles. Accordingly, microparticles manufactured using known techniques may be unsuitable, or unsatisfactory, for certain applications.